


Carry Your Throne

by shirosquared



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Political Alliances, Politics, Post-Season/Series 07, Racist elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 22:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15805887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirosquared/pseuds/shirosquared
Summary: Certain circumstances require the paladins to separate, leaving Keith solely in charge of handling the political climate with a race who may have a strong hatred of anything Galra.Keith learns that the mantle of the Black Paladin is a heavy one indeed.





	Carry Your Throne

**Author's Note:**

>   
>    
> 
> 
> This piece was written for the prompt "Shame - Keith". While this fic was intended to be gen, it could potentially be read as romantic if that's what you're looking for.
> 
> Check out the Voltron Bingo event [here](https://voltronbingo.tumblr.com), and check out my progress over on my Tumblr, [here](https://shirosquared.tumblr.com/tagged/voltronbingo)!
> 
> I'm taking prompts for the card(s) as well, so if you have requests feel free to send them! Just read [this post](http://shirosquared.tumblr.com/post/177420700310/voltron-bingo-cards) first!  
> 

Maybe someone had told Keith that the Nailarans were particularly sensitive in regards to the Galra. Maybe news had spread that Voltron’s current Black Paladin was half-Galra. _Maybe_ Keith had come off a bit too aggressive with the Senate when they barely listened to his proposition, which had already put him on edge from having all of those eyes on him while he spoke.

He’d just been trying to create a compromise so that everyone was happy, but they refused to listen to him, and, well, Keith wasn’t known for his patience. He really wished that Shiro was there at the moment, maybe he could’ve de-escalated the situation. Or even Allura, since she was the Princess, but Shiro was off on his own visits to check on the reconstruction efforts on the resistance hubs and Allura was busy planning strategies with Iverson and Sam. Keith wished they could’ve switched jobs, but the Senate had requested to speak with the Black Paladin specifically. Who was, unfortunately, him.

Shiro had told him that Keith would be fine, but Keith felt like he was back at the Garrison, sitting outside of the principal’s office after getting into another fight. Only Shiro wasn’t there to save him, this time. He was… his stomach twisted itself into knots under the scrutinizing gazes of the Senate, nearly fifty pairs of eyes with their full, undivided attention on him.

“Paladin Keith, certainly you understand our needs as a planet,” one said, attempting to de-escalate the situation. “Our people need certain resources to survive, we can’t just give our stock away.”

Keith swallowed. “I understand that, but even just providing your surplus stock could make a large difference in the war effort, aiding the refugees whose homes were destroyed by the Empire as well as the rebel forces fighting on the front lines.”

“But you are Galra, are you not, Paladin?” another asked, this one sounding vaguely female. He couldn’t remember all of their names to save his life.

“My ancestry is irrelevant,” Keith said, struggling to speak around the lump in this throat. “The Black Lion would not have chosen me if my intentions were to cause harm. That’s not the topic at hand.”

“What of the Blade of Marmora? They’ve been around for thousands of years, surely they would’ve come up with a solution before Voltron came if they truly wanted peace,” a third said.

“The Blade of Marmora have been valuable allies to us, granting us intel that has allowed us to make greater headway in dissolving the Empire as a whole. Their intentions are true.” The formal words felt strange in his mouth to begin with, and his growing anxiety was _not_ helping the situation. God, he should’ve dragged Lance in here with him. Lance was good at talking, he had a reason to be there as Voltron’s right hand, and at the very least Keith wouldn’t be standing in here alone.

“I have one more question, Paladin Keith,” the first said. “What are your intentions regarding the coalition after the last of the Empire is defeated? It has created one of the most massive power vacuums this universe has ever seen, and surely there will be those yearning to fill the space.”

Keith’s stomach dropped. They'd never really spoken about a plan for what would happen after, and if the answer he gave was different from the one Allura might give, it could turn out bad. But if he said nothing, it could turn out even _worse_. God, he hated this. “That's why we’re building the coalition. Instead of oppression, we’ll create peace and unity across the universe.”

“That's very idealistic, Paladin,” the second said. “How do you plan to manage conflicts after that? Will you use Voltron for a different kind of oppression?”

“We…” Keith fumbled over his words, trying to think of what the right thing to say was, but they had seen his weakness and were capitalizing on it.

“What makes you think you're any better than the Galra?”

“Why aren't there more representatives available to speak with us?”

“Are you leading _children_ into warfare?”

“Surely you must have some idea of what you're talking about. You _are_ the leader of Voltron, are you not?”

“Why should we trust the questionable alignments of you and the Blade of Marmora?”

“The Galra took everything from us, now you want us to work with them? With you?”

“—Paladin—”

“—Paladin Keith?”

Keith shuddered, every voice and protest overlapping until it was a cacophony of sound, drowning out his thoughts and setting him on edge. It got _louder_ , if that was even possible, climbing and climbing until Keith couldn't take it anymore.

A hard slam against the table startled everyone, silencing them. _“Enough!”_ Keith snapped, overwhelmed and tired and sick of it all. “If you can't trust us, then this alliance would never work. Whether you speak with me or with someone else on my team, it doesn't change who I am, who our allies are. If that's an issue for you, then we have no interest in allying ourselves with you.”

He turned and headed for the door, slamming his hand on the panel and fleeing the room, feeling like he couldn't breathe. He’d screwed up so badly, made more work for Shiro and Allura. He’d let them walk all over him even though he was supposed to be better than this.

Keith found a small closet and hid inside of it, his breathing harsh. He’d already messed up enough by running from the meeting, no need to make it any worse. He just… he didn't understand why all those people set him off like that. But the closet was dark and quiet, and he carefully lowered himself to the ground, sitting in the darkness while his heart threatened to burst from his chest.

Once he’d calmed down a bit, he stood and exited the closet, trying to firmly ignore the way his hands shook. He spared one last glance at the meeting room and shook his head, carefully navigating the halls until he made it back to the bedroom the paladins shared. He opened the door and slipped inside, the guilt and shame eating away at his insides until he felt numb.

Logically, he knew that this type of reaction wasn’t normal for him, but he couldn’t admit what he’d done. He could deal with it, it wouldn’t be the first time and nobody would have to put up with him.

“Keith? Did the meeting end? You should’ve said something, we would’ve—” Keith didn’t respond, and judging by the sound of Lance’s footsteps he’d moved closer. “Keith? Everything okay?”

“I—” Keith closed his eyes. “I ran out. I couldn’t do it. I probably ruined our chances at an alliance. What are Shiro and Allura going to say when they find out? I tried, and I just… they wouldn’t listen. They kept bringing up the fact that I’m Galra, that there’s no reason for them to trust me, and I _get it_ , but it’s… frustrating. They kept asking me all these questions that I didn’t know how to answer.”

The bed dipped as Lance sat next to Keith, draping an arm over his shoulders. “You did fine. It wasn’t anything you did, it seemed like they just wanted to get you upset. If they really wanted an alliance, why didn’t they want to talk to Allura? She’s a literal princess, the best for actual diplomacy talk.”

Keith frowned. It did make sense, in a way. Shiro and Allura had always been the heads of the coalition, but with their growth they couldn’t hope to be everywhere they needed to be at once. Which meant that Keith needed to pick up some diplomacy skills, but what if Shiro was upset with him for failing? What if he could’ve done better, and could’ve managed to secure the alliance?

Lance sighed. “It's a nice day, isn't it? Look, the sun’s setting.”

“It is,” Keith agreed quietly. “Everything’s different, but the sun acts like nothing's wrong. It goes on the same as always. I knew that I would have to be in the talks, now that I'm flying Black, but I didn't think they would go this badly. I never was good at talking with people.”

“You, my man, need a makeover,” Lance decided. “I haven’t really done one in a while, ever since we got super busy… but it should be relaxing, so it'll help you calm down and think about other things.” He smiled, that same smile he got when he was making a joke. “Maybe we can talk about boys.”

Keith snorted. “Maybe. Alright, I'm game. What have you got?” Even if it didn't help him, it was a way to be able to connect with Lance without having to reach out himself, and he’d take what he could get.

“Wait, really?” Lance asked. “You’re okay with it?”

Keith shrugged. “I don't mind it, and you seem to like it.” The second reason was that he’d rather fight Haggar herself than be stuck in his own head right now, but Lance didn't need to know that.

“Great!” Lance got to his feet, grinning. “Be right back. In the meantime… change into something comfy. It doesn’t have to be pajamas, but the armor has to go.”

Keith chuckled, already relaxing a bit. “Yes, sir.”

Lance shut the door when he left, giving Keith privacy to gather his thoughts. He unclasped the pieces of his armor, carefully piling them on the bed and getting up to stretch. Keith needed to move, needed to do _something_ other than sit here and wallow in his own shame. But he’d told Lance he would wait, which meant that Keith couldn’t go very far.

True to his word, thankfully, it hadn’t even been five minutes when Lance returned, arms full of various bottles and other products.

“Alright, I’m gonna take over your end table. Try and relax a bit, I can see the tension from way over here.” Lance began sorting the bottles, so Keith tried to focus on taking a deep breath in and letting it out like Shiro had shown him. He closed his eyes, letting the outside world fall away for a moment until it was just him and Lance, sitting in a room together in silence.

“Hey, Lance?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think I screwed up?”

“Screwed up what? I doubt you did, but you’ll have to be a bit more specific.”

“The alliance.” Keith leaned back, sighing. “Do you think Allura and Shiro are gonna be upset?”

“Why would they be?” Lance asked. “Keith, you’re still learning. We should’ve realized what they were playing at and sent someone in with you. They just wanted to get in your head, it’s not your fault that you reacted to it.”

“I should’ve _known_ ,” Keith murmured. “Shiro trusted me with this and I screwed it up.”

“Politics are… delicate, I guess would be the right word. We all know you’re not a people person, you don’t necessarily pick up on the same cues as Allura or Shiro and that’s _okay_. Everyone’s different, you know?”

When Keith didn’t answer, Lance continued. “You wanna talk a bit more, or are you ready to start? Either’s fine.”

“Can we just start?” Keith didn’t really want to talk anymore. He’d already spilled more today than he had in the past week, and frankly it was exhausting.

“You got it, chief.” Lance opened one of the bottles he’d brought, and Keith stopped really paying attention after that. It was nice to not have to worry for once, and surprisingly Lance wasn’t bad company. The time spent with the paladins had been good for all of them, creating something almost like—no, they _were_ a family. There was no ‘almost’ about it.

Even though Keith still felt a bit lost, as he laughed at a joke Lance told he realized that maybe having a family wasn’t so bad, after all. He’d spent so long pushing them away, but now it was time to lower his walls a bit.

Lance’s reaction to Keith’s joke was _golden_. Keith would savor it for a while. Because they were a family, and that was what families did.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr over at [shirosquared](https://shirosquared.tumblr.com)!


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